Dean Books

This book was awesome. It kept me engaged for several weeks, which is saying alot for a huge reader like I am.

Usually I find a book, a good 300 pages, at least, and I clobber it. It it is any good (I give it 100 pages to be good, or I am done) I will devour it, in a couple of days time. It is is *fairly* good but not too good, it might take me a couple of weeks as I will be doing something other than reading it when I have my late night reading time. For a really good book, though, it might take me a couple of nights to read it. For this book, since it contained 3 novels, it took me a couple of weeks. Honestly I was glad, because that was a couple of weeks where I didn't have to think about my next reading fix!!!!

Buy it... you will not be disappointed!

This made a wonderful gift and it was given to a true fan of Dean Koontz...

This book is probably one of the best I ever had because the novels compiled are all very thrilling and fun to read. I have read it twice and there is nothing else to do than to admire the way Dean R. Koontz writes. If you want to read something out of the ordinary, a bit on the supernatural side, along with a lot of action and twists, this is the one you need.

Wow, Phantoms, Darkfall, and The Servants Of Twilight all in one! I've read 23 Dean Koontz book so far and I can tell you that these are all five star books.

PHANTOMS is about a deserted town in the mountains where a woman and her teenage sister arrive to find most of the residents either missing or brutally murdered-even in locked rooms.

DARKFALL is about a man named Baba Lavelle out for revenge who is using voodoo to terrorize a man named Jack Dawson by sending goblin-like creatures after his two children. It's pretty intense with the things crawling through the air ducts and chasing after the family relentlessly.

THE SERVANTS OF TWILIGHT is about a cult lead by a crazy old woman named Grace Spivey who is convinced that a six year old boy named Joey is the anti-christ. The family and the private eye struggling to protect them are terrorized and sent on the run, and their lives will never be the same. But wherever they go, Grave and her followers always find them....

You really can't go wrong with this set. I suggest you buy this collection, and then read:

Intensity
Watchers
Whispers
Hideaway
False Memory
Twilight Eyes

This omnibus edition contains nothing apart from the text of the three books; no foreword, no afterword - not even the individual afterwords that Koontz has taken to including with re-issued editions of his older books.

This is a pity, because DARKFALL and SERVANTS were both written under pseudonyms, and Koontz' revised editions often include the story of the original author's tragic end. (There are at least five versions of the fate of "Leigh Nichols", including a tragic limbo accident.)

The individual books in this omnibus share a few characteristics apart from being written around the same time. All three with what might be termed the forces of Satan, though the situation is (of course) more complicated than that at times. Once the action gets rolling, each story occupies a very short timeframe: about 25 hours for DARKFALL, a few days for most of PHANTOMS, and similarly for THE SERVANTS OF TWILIGHT. Each has a kind of epilogue after the main event to give a little closure (although in DARKFALL's case it's quite short, not even a separate chapter).

THE SERVANTS OF TWILIGHT was first published in somewhat different form as TWILIGHT under the byline "Leigh Nichols" in 1984. The title role is a well-meaning religious sect, determined to destroy the anti-Christ. But "the anti-Christ", in this case, is a six-year-old boy, a sweet kid being brought up by his single-parent mom. Joey at first seems to be a random selection on the part of the Servants' leader.

When the Servants begin stalking Christine and her son, she hires a private investigator, Charlie Harrison, since everyone has to sleep sometime. Most of the remainder of the book is an extended chase scene, although the object is to flee rather than to catch anyone. Several of Koontz' other books have this kind of structure; SERVANTS falls into the earlier versions' simpler pattern, in which relatively isolated bad guys (rather than vast conspiracies) are chasing the good guys. Like many of Koontz' protagonists, the leads (Charlie and Christine) have troubled family backgrounds like that of the author. The main villain is schizophrenic.

--

DARKFALL was first published under the byline "Owen West" in 1984, prior to THE SERVANTS OF TWILIGHT. Like several of Koontz' earlier works, DARKFALL wasn't published under Koontz' preferred title (DARKNESS COMES, in this instance, although the story has also been known as THE PIT, which lent itself to some unfortunate jokes at the author's expense).

As in THE SERVANTS OF TWILIGHT, one of the protagonists of DARKFALL is a single parent, in this case Jack, a straight-arrow cop who is just beginning to take an interest in romance again after losing his wife to cancer. There are some similarities to the dynamic in DRAGON TEARS; Jack's partner is a very tough woman who had a rough childhood, and she's the "bad cop" of their good cop/bad cop act. (Unfortunately, it's *not* a deliberate act by the characters; like Connie in DRAGON TEARS, Rebecca really *does* lack political savvy in dealing with people.)

As in DRAGON TEARS, the partners have run into some odd phenomena on the day the story takes place, which can't be explained by any normal events. In DARKFALL, the partners are investigating a series of brutal murders in which the victims are all involved in organized crime, but the weird phenomena don't tally with a normal gang war or even a revenge killing. But the head of the family arranged for the murder of an investigative reporter some time back, whose brother turns out to be a voodoo priest from the islands...

Of the three stories in this omnibus, organized religion comes off best in DARKFALL. It happens to be the light side of voodoo that gets star treatment, though - does that matter? :) Jack and Rebecca get professional help, as it were, from a local voodoo practitioner; he comes up with an interesting philosophical defence of his religion.

--

PHANTOMS, the last story in the book, was actually published first, in 1983. Although Koontz had written several books in the interim, this was the first book under his own name since WHISPERS, and he was trying deliberately to write a very different book.

PHANTOMS was meant to be an over-the-top horror story, with a full-blown monster *but* with a scientific explanation for everything that takes place. Small town? Check. Everybody missing except a handful of main characters? Check. Gory? You bet. If you read this one alone on a dark night, don't come crying to me if you can't sleep. You've been warned.

--

For more detailed discussion of the contents of this book, I recommend consulting reviews for the three individual books.

Content warnings: Like a number of Koontz' books, these contain a few explicit sex scenes and quite a lot of violence. Organized religion gets somewhat unusual treatment.

But these are Koontz books. Bad things happen, some people are rotten, and organizations may fail to protect people properly, but individual good guys can manage to come through horrific episodes without being turned into monsters, even if they may suffer greatly in the process.

Comfort books. The first two rate about 4 stars, but PHANTOMS brings down the average.

THE TIME IT TAKES TO FALL

I spotted this book on the library new shelf and was drawn to it simply by the cover -- loved the picture of the space shuttle with all the hand-drawn stars surrounding it. Sometimes, you CAN judge a book by its cover and this is one of them!!

Such a great read. It is the l980's and we meet Dolores, a young teenage girl living in THE NASA town in Florida. Practically everyone in town has some connection with NASA and the space program. Dolores dreams of becoming an astronaut.

I loved how the author combined Dolores life and the 1986 CHALLENGER tragedy into a story of fiction. While the CHALLENGER is sadly true, it is wonderfully blended into the fictional life of Dolores.

Told from Dolores' narrative, this book is well written and moves along well. We meet Dolores' family -- her insecure mom, her dad, who works for NASA, and her younger sister. Such a good, typical family, full of love, but also full of problems. Dolores wants to fit in at school with the popular crowd. She has a friend in Eric who attends her school. Although he is a little odd and not popular, Dolores is drawn to Eric. His father is a big shot at NASA, and their families and their lives become intertwined.

The book does tell a lot of facts {many, many that were unknown to me} about the space program and the CHALLENGER disaster. However, the NASA programs and space shuttle details do not take over the book or read like a text. All the information regarding NASA was written in a very informative and interesting way that I did not find boring. I was 35 years old when the CHALLENGER blew up and that day still is clear as a bell to me. Like, where were you and what were you doing when this happened back in l986. What a horrible day.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book to everyone. It deals with many issues and many problems of every day life. It also opened my eyes -- when the shuttle blew up, all I truly thought about was the tragedy and the loss of the astronauts lives and THEIR families. I never really considered how this disaster affected ALL the NASA employees, their jobs, their families, their careers, their entire being.

If you like good fiction with history thrown in, this book is for you.

Thank you!!

Pam

The Time It Takes To Fall

Fantastic, insightful and spectacular are only a few adjectives that could describe this coming of age novel by Ms. Margaret Lazarus Dean. As a sophomore girl it is not always easy to find a good book that keeps you wanting to read from the beginning to the end, especially about a topic that you are passionate about. However, The Time It Takes To Fall took many different aspects of a teenage girl's life, family and NASA to create a captivating novel definitely worth reading.
Set in Cape Canaveral, Florida from 1984 to 1986, The Time It Takes To Fall captures the life of Dolores Gray, a naïve eleven year old at the beginning of the book who dreams of becoming an astronaut. She lives with her father, mother and four year old sister. Her father, along with most of the children's parents of the town, works for NASA, but more specifically is a technician for the Solid Rocket Boosters of the Space Shuttle. Ever since Dolores was little, her and her father shared a passion for the Space Program, particularly the launches of the Space Shuttle. Dolores idolizes the astronauts, particularly female astronaut Judith Resnik, but is afraid of jeopardizing her popularity. In addition, Dolores struggles in deciding being friends with the not so cool boy in her class that shares her amazing smarts named Eric. As Dolores grows, she not only faces the troubles of fitting in at school but the hectic and emotional family situation at home. Her parents were having issues and her mother decides to leave as her way of figuring things out. Not knowing the stress and hurt this causes Dolores, she does not tell where she is. All happening in two years time, Dolores reaches high school as an advanced freshman because of a Gifted And Talented program. There she has to decide between being the smart physics girl and/or being cool enough for the high school boy she fancies. However, all this is blown aside when she witnesses the horrific tragedy of the Challenger Disaster, which shatters her world and views, causing her to change and realize what in life is really important.
The Time It Takes To Fall is more of a serious book but has some very appropriate teenage humor as well. It also contains a lot of good and interesting information on NASA and the Space Shuttle era but it is not overpowering or too much to swallow, the perfect amount. In addition, there were several themes that were brought fourth in this superb novel. There was first the issues of family, which clearly showed that no matter how much each other mess up and need help, it's okay, your family will always be there for you and no matter what and love you as Dolores figured out with her parents and little sister. Another important theme presented was self-confidence. Dolores had to learn throughout the book that she should not allow other people's opinions to affect her and that she should be confident in herself and not do things just so she will fit in with the crowd. Additionally, Dolores learns that being herself is what matters and that she should not allow things to get in her way of accomplishing her dreams which is very inspiring. Through this book I learned all the things that Dolores did as well as just loving everything I have and not taking it for granted for the reason that once Dolores experienced the Challenger Disaster, her world collapsed and she had to get through it as well as all her other problems. In a single second, everything you know could be shattered so I learned not to take advantage of what I have.
Ms. Margaret Lazarus Dean is a splendid writer and there were many positives to her writing style. Along with all the NASA information she gave, she did a wonderful job of making fiction characters revolving around the Space theme and making them as real as possible so that the reader could relate easily and to the majority of the things brought fourth in The Time It Takes To Fall. Her characters were very enjoyable as well as realistic at the same time. The only negative I could find about this novel was that it ended too soon. Although there was only so much more that Ms. Margaret Lazarus Dean could write about, I felt like there was more I needed to know as well as wanted to know about Dolores.
All in all, The Time It Takes To Fall is a spectacular book. For any teenage girl interested in the topic of Space and likes fiction but is interested in learning especially about NASA I would recommend this book to in particular but it is a great read for anyone because of the themes discussed. I have no question about giving this book a 5 stars out of 5. It is a must read.

It's hard to believe that THE TIME IT TAKES TO FALL is Ms. Dean's debut novel. She writes like a seasoned author. I loved everything about this book. It brought back so many memories and I learned facts about NASA and the space shuttle program that I never knew. The way she intertwines the family dynamics with the Challenger tragedy is quite compelling.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a coming of age story with a little learning thrown into the mix. This novel is for everyone and I am anxiously waiting for her next amazing story. Way to go, Ms. Dean!!

The Time it Takes to Fall is a rare debut novel: beautifully written and tremendously wise. Set against the background of the Challenger disaster, this is the story of a girl who dreams of being an astronaut, and whose family's fortunes raise and fall with the space shuttle. Margaret Lazarus Dean is a gifted author, and I look forward to reading her next book.

By the 1980s everyone who lives in the towns that make up Florida's "Space Coast" understands that NASA is the prime employee. All working adults either are employed by NASA or provide services to NASA's employees. Most of the young like preadolescent student Dolores Gray dream of becoming astronauts or space engineers.

Delores' father moved here in 1965, but insists the space exploration ended abruptly in 1972 as Nixon had no vision. By late 1985 in spite of her dad's negativity and that most of her peers admired teacher in space astronaut Christa McAuliffe, Delores wants to one day be just like her heroine mission specialist Judith Resnick. However, funding is cut for the agency as another no visionary sits in the White House; NASA has to RIF employees like Delores' dad, which propels her parents' marriage into a tailspin until her mom leaves. Then on 28 January 1986, the Challenger explodes.

An interesting coming of age tale; what keeps THE TIME IT TAKES TO FALL entertaining is 1980s NASA Florida vividly described with a royal pyramidal hierarchy while rocket science is made simple and comprehensible without dumbing it down. The family crisis pales next to space science and space disaster. Still Margaret Lazarus Dean provides a fascinating look at Space Coast Florida circa 1985-86.

Harriet Klausner

I just got this Voice Lessons book, and, as I hoped, it is jam packed with reproducibles! Each lesson could take one class period or less, and there is a lot of variety. I was glad it wasn't primarily a book about theory. This is a take it to the photocopier and you have a lesson for the day book.

I teach a pre-AP class, and one of the major skills the kids practice is learning to recognize an author's tone through diction, syntax, etc. This book is a collection of excellent warm-up exercises that develop close reading and writing skills. I would highly recommend it; my copy is, in fact, loaned out at the moment to one of my colleagues!

This title was recommended to me by our AP English teacher and she was right. A few simple lessons from each section and my high school students had a much better understanding of voice.

This book is good for a class warmup. It probably could benefit from more indepth questions or more complex examples built on the
basic ones in the book, but it is very easy for the students to
comprehend. It might be a bit too basic for anything more than
grade level classes. The questions and answers are very obvious
for my Pre Ap students. I think it is a very good start!

Voice is perhaps the hardest of the 6 traits to teach. With my sophomore core English students, I would do 1 voice lesson each week for their warm up and it was amazing how much more accessible that vague idea of "voice" came to both myself and my students over the school year. The whole English department at my school uses Voice Lessons...9th grade teachers do a certain number, 10th grade, etc. By the time a student graduates, they will have done all the voice lessons. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to any English teacher or teacher who teaches writing (and which teachers don't?!).

Since I grew up in Southern California I thought I knew where surf City was...at the beaches I used to hang out at where the music was always going and the summers were endless. However, after reading Bob's book, I now realize it is more a state of mind where everything feels right!

Bob Greene has captured the essence of that search for Surf City...those of us who listened to Jan & Dean and many others of that era growing up will love this book. Like Bob, we are all in seach of that mythical place called Surf City and the endless summer...Bob found it while on tour with Jan & Dean and I found it in his book!

Greene's newest is fun if you are from that era of music. I wish it had more about the encounters of other musicians, and less of his musings. Since he toured with Alice Cooper and wrote a book about that, it would have been fun to hear some kind of comparison of those experiences.

If you are a fan of 50s and 60s music you will love this book. If you are a fan of Jan and Dean you MUST HAVE THIS BOOK. It is beyond a doubt the best book I have ever read on the subject of rock and roll.But it is so much more than that-it is the story of undying friendship and the search for eternal youth.I found my own Surf City last year when I met Dean Torrence in an Oklahoma Casino where he and the Surf City All Stars were playing.That meeting made reading the book that much better,because it proved to me that Bob Greenes views were right on the mark, and that if you are lucky you too can find Surf City.Rock and Roll will never die.

This is a great book. I especially enjoy reading about Gary Griffin....he's a real cutie. It's interesting to find out that life on the road isn't all glamor. A wonderful inside view of the people and songs that we all remember.

Bob Greene takes fans of 60's music through an insightful story from behind the scenes as he tells of his travels with Jan and Dean. His observations as one of the back up musicians reveal little known things about musicians and how concerts work. He also has many anecdotes about Jan and Dean after Jan's "recovery" from his terrible accident. Some of them are humorous and some rather sad. Reading this book led me to buy other books by Greene that I hadn't read so far in addition to buying another book about Jan and Dean. A good read.

Like features on a face or shadows on the moon, what we remember most is the unusual, the unsmooth, the wart or the wrinkle. Thus, for most of us, our picture of Henry David Thoreau consists of parts of two years spent in a hut on Walden Pond, interrupted by a one night stay in jail. If a quote comes to mind it is likely to be the aphorism about those who march to the beat of a different drummer. A two year camp-out is not a life, emblematic or no, and though Thoreau's life was short (snuffed by tuberculosis at 44), there was a great deal more to his career than the shack on Walden pond. He supported himself as a surveyor, teacher and lecturer, and his naturalist writings were widely published throughout his life. He was a knowledgeable taxonomist and was conversant with naturalistic texts in Greek and Latin, as well as with his contemporary, Charles Darwin. WILD FRUITS was his last manuscript, still in the works at the time of his death, together with a sketchier companion volume on the Dispersion of Seeds. Painstakingly transcribed from the author's scribbled notes by Thoreau scholar Bradley Dean, this book is a walk through the fruiting season. We meet each fruit as it ripens, from the elm seed and dandelion fluff forward to the succulent berries of summer and on to the wizened fruits of winter, still clinging to branches long after their season has passed. Thoreau was an acute observer. His careful identification and description of each plant could not be improved upon today, and being closer to the European invasion, he had the benefit of Indian wisdom concerning the habit and uses of native plants. Most surprising to this reader, after many seasons spent hiking and canoeing in Thoreau's stompin' grounds, is the diversity of edible berries I have overlooked. I consider myself a "grazer," inclined to sample berries, fruits, nuts and mushrooms* in my travels, but I see that I have much to learn (and nibble). All of the author's observations are interwoven with commentary on the habits of humans and animals, most particularly the damage being done to the natural world by thoughtless developers and badly conceived laws. Once again Thoreau proves deserving of his reputation as the progenitor of modern environmentalism. His voice rings true and clear across the 20th Century.

This may sound silly, but I was surprised to find out that this book is actually about WILD FRUITS. I mean everything you ever wanted to know about every kind of fruit the New England landscape has to offer: when it blooms, where it can be found, texture, color, everything. If you're looking for another Walden or a deeper understanding of the Transcendentalist movement, start elsewhere and come back to this one. As always with Thoreau this book is marvellously written, and the philosophy is there. It's just scattered and half-hidden throughout the landscape like wild strawberries (and just as delicious). It's a great read, just be warned: it's first and foremost about fruit!

This book is a collection of notes concerning the timing of various fruits that grow in and around Concord, Massachusetts. The word "fruit" is used very generally, and not all the "fruits" in the book are wild, since Thoreau includes comments about corn, potatoes, and other crops in the book, as well as about weeds and trees that produce seeds, such as maples. The book is comprised of articles that run from 1 or 2 sentences to 20 pages, depending on how much Thoreau has to say about the topic. The articles are arranged chronologically, according to when the "fruit" first ripens, beginning with elm seeds in May and ending with juniper berries in March. While some of the articles are accompanied by black-and-white sketches, they do not generally have enough information for readers to use the book as a guide for identifying plants. Rather, the book provides notes about the growth habits and ecology of plants. In addition to Thoreau's Wild Fruit material, there is also an introduction by the editor, Bradley Dean, and end material, including a selection of related passages (alternate beginning to Wild Fruits, the history of the apple tree, notes on the dispersion of seeds), a Thoreau chronology, a short glossary of botanical terms, a few black and white plates of Thoreau's manuscripts, editor's notes on the manuscript, a list of works cited, and an index.

This work represents the most detailed and systematic collection of Thoreau's naturalist observations. Even though the work is primarily about fruits, Thoreau still manages to slip a little philosophy in here and there. In his own introduction, he writes "The value of any experience is measured, of course, not by the amount of money, but the amount of development we get out of it." In his essay "Wild Apples," he writes "There is thus about all natural products a certain volatile and ethereal quality which represents their highest value, and which cannot be vulgarized, or bought and sold." Later, in an essay concerning cranberries, he notes "Both a conscious and an unconscious life are good; neither is good exclusively, for both have the same source. The wisely conscious life springs out of an unconscious suggestion....Indeed, it is by obeying the suggestions of a higher light within you that you escape from yourself and, in the transit, as it were see with the unworn sides of your eye, travel totally new paths." It's a fascinating book for readers of Thoreau, and would make a great reference for those interested in learning more details about the ecology of wild New England plants than can be found in common field guides.

What could be more pedestrian than the fruits (talking broadly) of plants - such fruits that include grains of wheat, hips of wild roses, apples, blueberries, etc. We may enjoy some of them as taste treats, but most of us ignore the everyday development of fruit from flower. The flowers are more noticed, except for some ornamental types like hollies. Yet the fruit and/or seeds of plants are amazing structures, many evolved to be carried by the wind, floated on water, eaten by animals or inadvertently carried by same through the devices of spines or hooks. In addition the seeds, surrounded by fleshy fruits or not, are little wonders- holding within them the promise of new growth. It always amazes me a little when I plant a seed and in a few weeks or months I have in its place a tall corn plant or tomato! Oaks are in acorns and tall pines in the seeds shed from their cones.

The long lost manuscript of Henry David Thoreau has now been published as "Wild Fruits", edited by Bradley P. Dean and elegantly illustrated by Abigail Rorer. It is a gem! Thoreau recorded his observations and thoughts about every sort of fruit and seed he encountered in New England, including the domesticated or semi-domesticated types. Occasionally he goes on about some favored fruit, such as the apple, explaining some of the folklore and history. In essence, especially in this troubled world, it is a great pleasure to read about these amazing, but everyday, objects of nature.

A good book to read and savor, I recommend it as an antidote to the hurried and harried lives we often live.

Do we have a preference for our Thoreau? ABSOLUTELY! But even the adulterated varietal will do in a pinch. The long lost diary of HD's romps in the woods serve well to remind us why some fruits are forbidden. Thoreau's posthumously edited musings over cattails, gladiolas, and other seductive succulents put the reader in the mood, apparently, for wanton strolls in a wooded glen savoring everything from unbridalled grapes (of wrath?) to the odd jack-in-the-pulpit. 'Tis better to give than to receive and this new work by an old friend makes a great gift when you want it known that you are in the mood for fruit more private than Publix.

I love this book and have bought it for several of my coaching friends. Full of great info from one of the best. Good diagrams and great instruction on how to implement multiple offenses and defenses. One of my favorite coaching books (and I have a ton). A great higher-level resource.

I have read this book over and over again. It has been a useful tool is my basketball coaching.

This book is page after page of super basketball information. It goes into great detail offenses and defenses from simple to complex. But best of all, it is written with an emphasis on the fundamentals, which will make any team better. I really recommend this book for any coach, beginner to seasoned veteran, there is a wealth of valuable information from cover to cover.

This is an awesome book. A lot of useful information for students, professionals and athletes.

I coached a camp this past summer in which a few coaches were discussing this book and referred to it as "The Holy Grail" of basketball books. To any coach looking for new perspectives and strategies, I would strongly recommend this book. You may not be able to use everything, and some of the information is a bit dated, but it prompted a million ideas of my own, and helped me plan out some fresh drills, plays, and defenses for my team.

I've always had the impression that Western/American Buddhism was overwhelmingly white, upper-middle-class and academic - an impression and perhaps a prejudice (or a hang-up); in spite of having read and been influenced by the philosophy and practice through much of my adult life, I've always held any personal endorsement or affiliation at arm's length because of this - I'm not white, upper-middle-class, or an academic, and the (perceived) insularity of that particular world doesn't often seem to be very inviting.

This is why this was such a valuable read for me - Willis belongs to a very, very small demographic - African-American Buddhists, and in DREAMING ME she traces a path from a Baptist upbringing in the segregated (and oft-violent) South to her present life as an academic and Buddhist scholar. Willis' recountings of her childhood were - to me - the most successful part of the book, with the grimness of Jim Crow-era Alabama rendered in cinematic detail. Willis also - with great success - draws parallels between the faith she grew up with and the philosophies she grew to accept as an adult. Beautifully written, she makes it almost seem effortless.

Not a very well-known book, unfortunately - and I fear this may slide into obscurity. I would encourage checking it out.

-David Alston

This book was read in one marathon session that flew by all too quickly. It spoke to the very core of my being. Having this story told in such a personal way deftly teaches the reader at every level. It's well written and one could easily be fooled that they are simply being entertained with a good read. There were many moments where I felt stunned with deep recognition of a life experience that mirrors a good portion of my own. I connected with this book deeply at the heart level. Most touching were the moments with her teacher, Lama Yeshe. His extraordinary heart helped her heal deep societal and personal pains which have traveled across generations influencing and shaping our culture in difficult ways. Thank goodness Dr. Willis chose to develop the good heart, rather than fight the good fight. One does not need to be in a culturally specific group or religion to recognize and feel Dr. Willis' experience. She reached into the depths of spirit and wrote in a way that touches universally. This lady has a heart that totally outsizes her brilliant, immeasurable intellect and her story will benefit countless numbers. I'm one unabashedly grateful reader.

Since I have met Jan Willis a few times through my own work at Naropa University, I emailed her after I finished reading Dreaming Me. Here's part of what I wrote to her: "I just wanted to let you know how engrossing I found your book. It was like talking to you, hanging out with you, to read it. I had put it at the bottom of my pile of "books I want to read" but somehow it jumped right up to the top, and I couldn't put it down until I finished it. Please take that as a resounding compliment! Thanks so much for writing it, and for revealing so much of your big heart.

There is something intriguing about a story which chronicles a former Baptist's alteration towards adhering to the teachings of the Buddha Shakyamuni. Jan Willis is an African-American Tibetan scholar and translator, a professor of religion at Wesleyan University and teacher of Buddhism for more than 25 years. She starts the book recording her life prior to finding the Buddha's teachings, a life spent as a devout Southern Baptist in a segregation ridden south. The KKK was active in her area of Alabama, and at a very early age they had burned a cross in her parent's front lawn. Later she would go on to march in Martin Luther King's civil rights movement, adhering to the values she so strongly believed in. In 1965, with 7 other African-Americans, she enrolled in Cornell University where during her junior year she sailed off on a trip to India which greatly impacted her life. For a brief period she returned to the states to continue her studies at Cornell, but eventually she felt drawn back unto the East again. She left this time for Nepal and underwent intense study with the Tibetan master Lama Yeshe. She studied with him for more than 15 years, where she faced a problem most predominant in all our practices: sense of self, ego.

This book is a fascinating look at a very small minority in the world of Buddhism, the role African-Americans have played in it's growth and the teaching of the Dharma. In the west, in my lineage of Zen, African-American's are probably the least represented group of all. While we have male and female teachers, and practitioners of several racial and cultural backgrounds, for some reason or another there is a very small pocket of African-Americans present. This is not due to any sort of discrimination but rather, to be frank, oftentimes the African-American individual can at times have a problem with breaking down ego. Something which has it's roots in the horrendous treatment this group underwent at the hands of a predominantly white America. This work is a fascinating look at practicing the Buddha Dharma in modern times with a voice of honesty, clarity, and incisive wisdom on each and every page. Enjoy this treasure.

Books like "Dreaming Me" are gifts or treasures that we rarely have the good fortune to discover. Ms Willis' journey is at times painful yet ultimately joyful. She shares this pain and joy in a compelling writing style that is filled with anecdotes and drama. No matter what your life experiences may be you are quickly drawn into the universal themes that every human being shares. As a white male living in the Northeast during the sixties I was on the other side of the world from a person like Ms Willis. Yet she made her experiences part of me. And like two parts of a greater experience I felt whole after reading this book. I highly recommend it. Thank you Ms Willis for putting your experiences into such a beautifully written book.

My husband remembered loving this series as a kid and was delighted to be able to get them for our son. At age 7 our son would read the Enchanted Wood and the Faraway Tree over and over. Enid Blyton connects perfectly with the magical imagination of kids this age.

I remember reading this book as a little girl. Enid Blyton is in my opinion the best children's writers. Now that I'm a mom I'm getting this book and other Blyton favourites for my kids.

The enchanted wood is a fab book its about three children Joe,Beth and Frannie. They live in the contry side and they find a magic tree and up the tree they make loads of friends but at the top of the tree there are lands some lands are good and some lands are bad. If you liked the sound of that you will have to get the book!!!!!!!!!!!

I remember reading this book when I was little. I recently came across it again at my parent's house and found it to be just as delightful now at 32 as I did when I was 7! It is filled with magical wonder and fantasy. A great recommendation for children of all ages!

Any child that reads this book will enter into a magical world......I am now 34 yrs old....I read this book as a child and still remember liking the stories.......I am originally from Guyana formally British Guiana......I grew up on all Enid Blyton books....they are a delight to read.......this is one book I suggest you get for you children.

I read this with no preconceptions and was VERY impressed; DAMN, she writes well ! There's a point in the book that just took my breath away it was so . . . shocking! READ IT . . BUY IT! This should be on the NY Times best-seller list . . . HEY HOLLYWOOD: WAKE UP TO THIS WOMAN AND STORY ! ! ! !

Di Dean's writing style is unique and breath-taking. Her story tugged at my heart strings through out every page. I recommend this book to anybody who has been broken, confused, left behind, or simply is just interested in old Hollywood.

Wow, Di Dean is a great artist and storyteller! She is a influential writer with a special charm. Hollywood Lit was very rewarding, enthralling, and has a irresistable appeal! She captivates and attracts the reader while unveiling her secret ..Hollywood Lit must be held with excellence..it has insightful messages that are pleasing to the mind.

I think that Di is a good writer and she seems very sincere. I believe her story and it thrills me to know that Jimmy most likely left a piece of himself in the world in the form of a child . I just wish that she would come out with more info about herself and her childhood.There is so much more that I want to know.Like who was her Mother "Cat"? She doesn't sound like any of the women I've heard about that were linked to Jimmy before. Even though I enjoy her writing, I wish that the book had been written in more of a straightforward narrative style.
For example- My Mother met James Dean in this month, and this year . Thats the kind of writing I personally prefer in dealing with a biography book like this.

Magical story telling - Di's words captured my interest from the beginning. I feel priviledged to have had a peek into her life journey...and a glimpse of Hollywood of days past. I look forward to her next book.

This book lays out a powerful approach for succeeding in almost any situation involving communication skills. The clear explanation and excellent examples make it easy for the busy person to apply and to start reaping the benefits. We are all "sellers" in one way or another, and this book provides invaluable assistance for that crucial function. Buy this book and you will improve yourself.

From the moment I started reading Move the World, I gained very useful and immediately applicable help on improving my communication skills. As a nonprofit executive, I know I will be more successful fundraising by more effectively being able to "persuade" and "motivate" potential donors. Very well written as well.

I'm sure this would be a five star book for any person starting out in his or her studies of communications and persuasion. Since I've studied dozens of other books on this topic, there were fewer new insights provided by the book. The lever metaphor was indeed an excellent learning tool that I think will help many readers. Without revealing too much of the value that one should pay for in a book like this, know that the lever metaphor is based on the proper alignment of your audience, your knowledge of the audience and your message.

The GAP method was very simple, but sometimes simplicity is enough. I felt the "Understand Your Audience" section could have been more detailed. It was the shortest of the GAP chapters.

However, chapter 6 on essential speaking skills was probably the best single chapter I've ever read on speaking skills. While I had heard or read everything in there before, the information was often presented in new ways and it was a refreshing way to get a reminder.

In the end, if you're new to persuasion and public speaking, this book is a must have. If you've been around for awhile, it will be a great refresher for you. The reality is that if you don't know everything that's in this book, you don't know everything you need to know about public speaking and persuasion.

Blessings,
Tom Carpenter

It is so valuable to approach/frame a sales pitch as an opportunity to teach. And you can only teach if you understand where your audience is coming from. "Move the World" is a great way to approach an audience.

It is entirely common for presenters to miss how really limited an audience's understanding is. The listeners may have titles and job positions that seem to be "right up your alley", but in fact they don't understand the situation nearly as well as you do. And they certainly haven't thought about it as much. So presenters/salespeople miss some key "buy-in" connections as they are speaking. Presenters/salespeople really have to lay out the groundwork of a situation (teach) to the audience in a way that leads them to the desired conclusions, based on where they are coming from and what knowledge they start off with. This book drills into us the very valuable lesson of planning your pitch by thinking about the audience's perspective more than your own, and thinking about what they need to learn in order to see the world the way you do. I use this for my own sales team again and again...

Move the World provides a concrete approach to public speaking and sales that applies to everyone. Whether you are trying to sell to a group or just convince a colleague that your opinion counts, Brenner's book will help improve your interactions through a simplified and easy to understand message. The personal anecdotes and simple style make it very readable. I highly recommend this to anyone who is trying to improve his/her communication skills.